DC's new universe the Omniverse features a lot of the alternate Earths of the old Multiverse starting from scratch, and nowhere is this more true than Earth-3, home of the Justice League's evil mirror images the Crime Syndicate.
On March 2 writer Andy Schmidt and artist Kieran McKeown introduce a new version of the classic supervillain team in the launch of the six-issue limited series Crime Syndicate and the publisher has released a six-page preview of the debut issue.
"A paranoid titan (Ultraman), a narcissist (Super Woman), a nihilist (Owlman), a broken moral compass (Power Ring/Emerald Knight), a sociopath (Johnny Quick) and a sadist (Atomica). Does the world stand a chance?" DC asks rhetorically in its description of the series.
"Spoiler alert: No. No, it does not," is its rhetorical answer.
The series, like much of DC's upcoming editorial slate, spins out of January's Dark Nights: Death Metal finale.
"The DC Multiverse is reborn, and with it a new Earth-3!" continues DC's description. "Witness the true origins of the malevolent makers of mayhem known as the Crime Syndicate as a common foe unites them! But how long can alliances last between villains like these?"
"Kieran and I were given a once-a-lifetime opportunity to build a world from the ground up," says Schmidt. "We're establishing the Crime Syndicate's origin story for the first time—how and why they came together. And we're not taking it lightly. You'll find that you've entered a fully realized world—this is the story of the Crime Syndicate, but it's also the story of Earth-3 and it moves fast and pulls no punches.”
The debut issue also features a back-up story telling the origin of evil Superman analog Ultraman drawn by artist Bryan Hitch.
Crime Syndicate #1 features a cover by Jim Cheung and a variant cover by Skan. Check out the preview pages below:
And for more on this new series check out Newsarama's recent in-depth interview with Schmidt 'Inside the new Crime Syndicate on the new DC Earth-3.'
